1. Field of the invention
This invention relates generally to hydroponic systems and more particularly to hydroponic systems with a pump powered by expansion of air or gas.
This invention relates to the assembly and integration with an existing patent (described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,459 of Newby) which is a liquid pump, to components that will enable the pump to circulate the fluid in a multiple functioning hydroponic system.
2. Description of Prior Art
The addition of various chemicals to water had been found to produce a solution in which plant life flourished. By the 1920's the preparation of chemical mixtures had been standardized and various methods of usage of these mixtures had been developed. However not all of the methods had yet been developed.
The ebb and flo hydroponics method of growing plants was developed during the 1940's by Robert B. and Alice P. Withrow. They used inert gravel as the growing medium The plants were alternately flooded and then drained, thus giving the plants the maximum amounts of both nutrients and air to the plant roots. This method later become known as the gravel method of hydroponics and also as nutriuculture.
Another meted of applying the nutrient to the plants is that of sub-irrigation. The nutrients are periodically fed to the plants from below the roots. This method is called the sub irrigation method. It is very similar to the ebb and flo method. In present day large scale commercial greenhouses plants are grown from seeds or small plants to harvest. This process is mainly controlled by automation.
A modern example of an open system pump that can be used in the automated sub-irrigation or gravel method is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,459 of Newby, a simplified version of an open system pump is shown. It is shown to include a hollow chamber, a cycling container disposed within the chamber, and a flapper type check valve.
Briefly, the invention includes a hollow chamber, with an attached float and a hollow cycling container, open at the top, disposed within the chamber. The cycling container is coupled to a pipe which is attached to a flexible tube joint near the bottom of the enclosure wall, the joint in turn is coupled to the a outer pipe on the outside of the enclosure. This allows communication between the cycling container and the outside pipe. When the cycling container is empty it becomes buoyant. Whenever the cycling container is buoyant the pressurized gas within the chamber will escape. Whenever the cycling container is submerged the gas entering through the input pipe will be contained and the pressure within the chamber will rise until it forces water out of the output pipe. The circular arc distance the cycling container can travel upward is determined by the length of the output pipe attached. Whenever the cycling container is raised to the level the pipe length will allow, the container will be rotated into a position that allows water to enter, the container loses its buoyancy and sinks to the bottom of the chamber. Once again the cycling container is submerged and the gas entering the chamber through the input pipe is again captured.
An advantage of the invention is that it is an open system mechanism, the gas is vented to the atmosphere between each cycle. This design allows for simplified construction and reduces the need for expensive pumps or timing mechanism to cycle the fluid.
Another advantage of this invention is the unique design of a cycling container to utilize the forces of buoyancy and gravity to recycle the system.